What is a Demo?

Demos provide a way to showcase an educational tool or project in a live setting. Not designed to be sales pitches, demonstrations are a way for the community to see the relevance, potential and innovation of the tool and allow time for discussion with its creator. Demos take place during break periods and will last 45 minutes.

Proposals undergo review but not blind review.

How Should The Proposal Be Formatted?

Demo proposals are submitted in PDF format. The full proposal contains an abstract and a body that describes your Demo (as detailed below). The full proposal is used for the review process only. If the proposal is accepted, the abstract is the description that appears on the Symposium website and in the Symposium program and proceedings. The format for the proposal is as follows.

Demo Proposal Format and Contents

Proposer: Include name(s), affiliation, email address, and website address. You should expect most correspondence related to the conference to arrive via email. Please check your spam filter if you haven’t received an expected notification because the auto-responses generated by the conference software are sometimes blocked.

Title: A title for the Demo.

Abstract: A description of the Demo. The same abstract will also need to be submitted via a text box on the submission page. Please be sure that your description is accurate and that both submitted copies (here in the Demo Proposal, and in the submission text box) are exactly the same.

Significance and Relevance of the Topic: Please include information about any trends in relation to the tool/project and possibly describe (or cite) evidence to that effect. Your objective here is to explain why the tool/project is significant.

Expected Audience: Briefly describe the nature and size of the expected audience. This information will help gauge the level of interest SIGCSE attendees will have in the Demo.

Other Presenter(s): Although correspondence will be with the proposer above, it will be the discussion leader(s) who will be mentioned in Symposium literature. Please list any additional such names (besides the proposer) and affiliations here. Be certain that you have their commitments to attend the Symposium. All presenters must register for the SIGCSE conference and be present for the Demo session.

Expertise of Presenter(s): Give a summary of the qualifications of the presenter(s) as it relates to the tool/project being proposed.

Rough Agenda for the Demo: Timing details would be helpful here. Explain what the attendees can expect. Be sure to budget a realistic amount of time for questions from attendees.

Audio/Visual and Computer Requirements: Indicate your A/V requirements, such as wireless access, wired access, extra power outlets, data projector or other materials that you need to use. Please note that certain A/V materials and equipment will be available for all demos. At the time of acceptance, more information about the standard vs. non-standard A/V equipment will be available.

Tips for Creating an Effective Demo

Interactivity with the audience!

Consider in your agenda the fact that people will be walking in and out of your demo.

While proposed agendas may change, you should be as detailed in your agenda as possible. Illustrate the specific activities you have in mind to the best of your ability.

Make sure that you are explicit about what you want to get out of the demo experience. As described above, demos are meant for you (the presenter) to get exposure for your tool or to generate discussion. However, it is helpful for your reviewers to understand if you are looking to find users, vet future research directions, etc.

Demo Proposal Abstract

The abstract is the description of the Demo that will appear on the conference web pages. The description is limited to and must match verbatim the abstract section of the Demo Proposal. The Demo abstract must be submitted in plain text. The abstract for an accepted proposal may contain a URL with more information. (Abstracts of accepted Demos can be edited in response to reviews.)

Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your documents because that is when everyone else will be connecting to our server!

Make note of the proposal ID number and password assigned to your submission. You will receive an e-mail message confirmation. Spam filters sometimes trap these automatically generated messages so you may need to check your spam trap for the confirmation and later, acceptance or rejection notification.

After receiving confirmation, go to the submission site to review your submission for accuracy. Send e-mail to the chair(s) (see below) if there are any problems.

By SIGCSE policy, at least one contributor is required to register, attend and present a . See our full policy for more information.